IL: 13 yo teen killed by police at 2:30 am in alley

[crazy2medic]

What Happened to "It's 10:00 at night, do you know where your Children Are?"

[Excaliber]

I can't blame the cop at all - gun was seen in the kid's hand and he (hand hidden from the cop's view) ditched it behind a fence.

Yes, and then the guy who was seen with a gun in his hand seconds before turned suddenly and faced the officer who perceived an immediate deadly threat. The officer's decision to fire and the beginning of his trigger press was almost certainly simultaneous with the suspect raising his hands, which would not have been able to be perceived as empty until they were at least at waist level. It's virtually impossible to stop the firing of a handgun at this point (from another Force Science Institute study).

If the suspect had raised his hands and turned slowly so the officer could see the gun wasn't in his hand he wouldn't have been shot, but he chose to move his body in exactly the way one would expect someone with murderous intent to move.

This isn't an officer training issue - it's a suspect behavior issue putting an officer in a no-win situation. If the officer had waited to confirm that the gun was still in the suspect's hand and it actually was, the officer would have been shot.

I place blame for the outcome first on negligent parents who let a 13 year old run around with armed criminals at 2:30 AM, and a suspect who was too clever by half by trying to stealthily ditch the gun and then do the "What gun, I ain't got no gun" with raised hands act. His decision to make his turn toward the officer as fast as he did was the final element that sealed his fate.

In my opinion would-be critics should try making 2:30 AM life and death decisions in dark alleys day after day and getting every one exactly right for 20+ years before they condemn those who do this for a living.

[parabelum]

In this case I’d say that the officer did his best to use his judgment and act accordingly. I feel bad that the kid lost his life, very sad ordeal. Nothing good happens at that time in dark alleys, especially when your strolling with a gun when police are trying to make contact.

[Grayling813]

Cop was poorly trained. Another black man dead at the hands of the police. The police need to start policing the police.

You obviously didn’t even read the article. The kid was Latino not black. The perpetually offended community need to start policing themselves for both parental and personal responsibility.

[AndyC1911]

This isn't an officer training issue - it's a suspect behavior issue putting an officer in a no-win situation.

Ding-ding-ding.

In my opinion would-be critics should try making 2:30 AM life and death decisions in dark alleys day after day and getting every one exactly right for 20+ years before they condemn those who do this for a living.

I volunteer oorah for Force-on-Force training; it's quite apparent he doesn't know what he's talking about. I don't mean that in a bad way at all; I simply believe the exposure would highlight that things aren't as cut-and-dried as he always seems to presume.

[JustSomeOldGuy]

Like I stated before, it won’t be long until the only people that want to be in law enforcement are the criminals. Nobody else will want to do it. Wait until that happens.

Hey, maybe that's the plan. Let the criminals become cops, THEN you can hang them for things like picking their noses in public.

Clockwork Orange.
and I doubt IA or a DA will do anything to them....